Kansas ethanol plant about ready

Gale Rose

Tuesday

Aug 28, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 28, 2007 at 10:20 PM

About 100 workers are busy at a Kansas ethanol plant putting on the final touches, but work is almost complete after more than 400,000 man-hours of labor. At the peak, more than 250 people were working on the plant.

About 100 workers are busy at an ethanol plant putting on the final touches, but work is almost complete after more than 400,000 man-hours of labor. At the peak, more than 250 people were working on the plant.

"We're at 98 percent complete," said Frank Moore, vice president of plant operations. "We'll start processing the third week in September."

Welding, painting, connecting, adjusting controls is happening all across the plant. The lab equipment for ethanol quality control will be the last equipment brought in and set in place.

Each piece of equipment, each structure, each element is state-of-the-art and together will make the best facility possible.

"I feel the facility is the highest quality," Moore said.

Area residents have watched the plant slowly take shape over the past months and dominate the skyline. The circle railroad line will be used to bring in grain for the facility and to ship out ethanol. Trucks will also haul in grain and haul out miller's grain for feedlots and the newly processed ethanol. The tracks can hold 165 ethanol cars leased to the plant.

The plant will employ 38 people when fully operational, but some of the leadership has been in place for four months, said Dr. Pat Barker, Orion Ethanol executive chairman.

Construction crews have battled the weather this year, but the crews have kept a good face on in spite of the weather, Barker said.

A major issue facing ethanol plants in general is the use of water. The plant uses 500 gallons of water a minute, and water use efficiency is constantly monitored. Water is recovered and recycled throughout the plant.

"We've reduced our water consumption by 40 percent from the original design," Moore said.

Safety is a top priority at the plant. Numerous safety systems are in place, including a system to fight fires with foam.

The plant will produce ethanol and distiller's grain, a product used by cattle feed lots. Eventually the plant will sell CO2, a biproduct of ethanol production. The plant is designed to add the equipment necessary to collect CO2 for resale.

It took two years from having the finances in place to producing ethanol. The plant has had positive support from the community and the city and county commissioners as the financing was gathered and put into place, Barker said.

"There was a huge commitment from the community," Barker said.

The team is anxious to see the impact the plant has on the community. The plant should produce $200 million in revenue, and that money will recycle in the community.

"Now that's added value in Pratt County," Barker said. "If only half of that turns over seven times in the county, what a difference that will make."

The plant has the capability to expand and double its size to produce 110 million gallon a year.